promoearn: It's no vaccine, but this is promising

Tuesday, June 16

A coronavirus-related mural in Mexico City, photographed on June 9, 2020.

A steroid may reduce COVID-19 deaths, researchers say. PG&E pleads guilty to manslaughter. Trump signs police order. It's Tuesday's news.

There are so many important stories we need to discuss: Coronavirus. Police policy. Oluwatoyin Salau. North Korea. Lady A(~~ntebellum)~~. Breonna Taylor.

It's Ashley with the news you need to know.

But first, 2020 has been rough: Americans are the unhappiest they've been in 50 years, a new poll shows.

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A drug that can improve COVID-19 survival?

This isn't quite the vaccine news we've been hoping for, but it's still good news: Researchers in England said they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival. A "remarkably cheap" steroid called Dexamethasone reduced coronavirus deaths by up to one-third in a study of more than 6,000 severely ill patients. Although the British government authorized its use among some patients, it remains unclear how beneficial the treatment may be for less severe COVID-19 cases. Further, the findings have not been peer-reviewed or replicated in other studies. But "bottom line is, good news," said the United States' top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci. "This is a significant improvement in the available therapeutic options that we have."

•	Speaking of Dr. Fauci, he says he hasn't talked to Trump in two weeks. 🤔
•	The Trump administration says it's "taking every possible step" to maximize the likelihood there will be a safe COVID-19 vaccine by the first of next year.

PG&E pleads guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter for 'Camp Fire'

The country's largest utility pleaded guilty Tuesday to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from one of the many wildfires that have ravaged California in recent years. Pacific Gas & Electric, long accused of putting profits before customer safety, acknowledged its neglected equipment set off the "Camp Fire" in 2018 that destroyed most of the Northern California town of Paradise and claimed the lives of 85 people. The hearing took place as PG&E approaches the end of a complicated bankruptcy case it used to work out $25.5 billion in settlements to pay for the damages from that blaze and others that charred wide swaths of Northern California and killed dozens.

A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Tens of thousands of people fled the fast-moving wildfire in Northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they abandoned vehicles and struck out on foot ahead of the flames that forced the evacuation of an entire town.

Noah Berger, AP

What everyone's talking about

•	The Louisville detective who applied for the no-knock search warrant that precipitated the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor was reassigned.
•	Former Lady Antebellum will continue going by Lady A after apologizing to a blues singer with the same name.
•	A man was arrested in the deaths of activist Oluwatoyin Salau and volunteer Vicki Sims. Here's everything we know.
•	The new Ford Bronco will debut July 9. Yes, that is O.J. Simpson's birthday.
•	A 16-year-old rising star in sport climbing died after falling from a cliff in France.
•	7-Eleven canceled its Free Slurpee Day because of coronavirus. Good news: It will still give away free frozen drinks in July.

Trump signs police order on use of force amid calls for action

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing police departments to adopt new standards for use of force. Trump's order follows nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, and other African Americans at the hands of law enforcement officers. The order calls for the creation of a national database to allow departments to track potential hires with records of abuse and for mental health professionals to respond alongside officers to calls dealing with homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness.

•	Relatives of Ahmaud Arbery met privately with Trump, along with families of other victims of violence, before he signed the executive order.
•	"She has found her voice": Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms steps into the national spotlight amid policing debate.
•	While a police officer kneeled on George Floyd's neck, a 911 dispatcher watching in real time called a supervisor to express concern over the force being used.

President Donald Trump announces an executive order on police policy June 16 in Washington.

Evan Vucci, AP

North Korea blows up diplomatic office amid escalating tensions with South Korea

North Korea blew up a liaison office building it operates with South Korea, officials in Seoul said Tuesday, as tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated amid stalled denuclearization talks with the United States. The targeting of the building comes as Pyongyang warned Seoul it needs to stop defectors from sending anti-North Korea leaflets across the border. Over the weekend, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, threatened to send troops into the Demilitarized Zone that separates North Korea from South Korea.

•	"Faded away into a dark nightmare": North Korea says diplomacy with Trump has failed.

An inter-Korean liaison office building explodes in Kaesong, North Korea, on June 16. North Korea blew up the office building just inside its border in an act that sharply raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

South Korea Defense Ministry/Yonhap via AP

Real quick

•	The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released the first photos of Tom Brady in his new uniform.
•	The U.S. extended its border closure agreements with Canada and Mexico.
•	Tupac Shakur would have turned 49 years old today.
•	Forget acid rain. Plastic rain is falling across the USA.
•	Rep. Ilhan Omar's father died of coronavirus-related complications.
•	A ruling on LGBTQ rights reveals the precarious nature of the Supreme Court's conservative majority.

Is anyone out there? 👽

We are not alone in the universe, a new study says, and there could be "dozens" of intelligent civilizations throughout our Milky Way galaxy. "There should be at least a few dozen active civilizations in our galaxy under the assumption that it takes 5 billion years for intelligent life to form on other planets, as on Earth," said University of Nottingham astrophysicist Christopher Conselice, who co-wrote the research. This estimate assumes that intelligent life forms on other planets in a similar way that it does on Earth. These civilizations would be about 17,000 light-years away on average, making finding and speaking with them practically impossible with today's technology.

•	More "fast radio bursts" have been detected from a distant galaxy. This one has a repeating pattern.
•	These are the top 5 states for UFO sightings, according to data.

A break from the news

•	💰We're a month away from tax deadlines. Here are a few tips to filing this year.
•	📚Oprah's latest book club pick is ... "Deacon King Kong" by James McBride.
•	🎁PSA: Father's Day is coming in hot. Here are 14 last-minute gifts that will arrive by Sunday.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.